Angels Don't Cry
by ada69
Summary: "She panted frantically, trying to find the will to allow herself to breathe. But she couldn't. Not until he was safe. Not until he could breathe with her." Oneshot. I don't own ADJL.


**Angels Don't Cry**

_Running. _

She was running toward him. The Autumn leaves, already fallen and dead, crunching beneath her feet as she ran. The cool October breeze whispering warnings in her ear.

She could see him clearly now. Lying in a pool of his own blood. She could feel the seconds flying by, each one giving him less and less time to live.

And that simple thought, the thought of losing him, pushed every fiber of her being to move faster and faster. And the closer she got, the more horrified she became until she finally collapsed on her knees before him.

Her breath came out shallow and ragged as she lowered a shaking hand to his cold, bloodied, and limp one.

And she held on tight.

_This couldn't be happening. _

_This couldn't be happening._

_This couldn't be happening. _

But it was, and the knowledge overwhelmed her.

Her eyes were glazed with tears, but this didn't prevent her from seeing him clearly.

He was broken. Hardly recognizable to her at all. Bruised and broken. Full of cuts and covered in dried blood. Ghostly pale. Only a fragment of his former being. But the gentle rise and fall of his chest was just enough to give her a glimmer of hope.

This wasn't supposed to happen. This couldn't be happening. Not to her. Not to him.

It was supposed to be a simple mission. Nothing dangerous, he had assured her.

And yet here he lie, broken and bleeding. Holding on by a thread in danger of being cut at any moment.

"Jake," she swallowed. Her voice, shaking and unsteady, was almost unrecognizable to even herself.

"Jake," she managed again, this time a little stronger. She had to be strong. At a time when he couldn't be, she had no other choice.

"Jake!" She was screaming now. "You can't leave me!" The tears that had been threatening to spill over finally came full force. "Please!" She sobbed. "Don't leave me here alone!"

One arm clutched her stomach as hunched over, the sobs continuing to wrack through her body. Her other hand holding onto his for dear life.

"Please!"

She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. Everything around her remained still as time stopped dead in its tracks.

She panted frantically, trying to find the will to allow herself to breathe.

But she couldn't. Not until he was safe. Not until he could breathe with her.

"Please," her sobs had subsided, but the tears remained steady. "Please stay with me," she begged him quietly, a single tear falling onto his cheek.

And slowly, ever so slowly, his eyes began to open.

They were dull. Loss of light, loss of life, but they held the same sparkle that they always did. The only thing that reminded her that this was still her Jake.

Her Jake. Beaten…broken…dying.

"Jake," she managed again, her voice, wavering, just above a whisper. Filled with all the hope that she could hold on to.

She watched him carefully, the tears still falling steadily. Waiting…wanting…hoping…

And she watched his mouth open slowly, allowing him to speak the words that were barely audible. The words that were almost lost in the wind. But they were still there. And she could still hear them.

"Angels…don't cry…Rose,"

_Angels don't cry. _

His voice rang in her ears. Over and over again.

_Angels don't cry. _

His voice, cracked and whispered, stayed with her.

_Angels don't cry. _

Slowly, she raised a shaking hand on to his cheek, his eyes still opened. Still living. Still watching her carefully. Perhaps only half aware of her true presence beside him.

And she held back the tears, somehow managing to speak one last time without falling apart completely.

"I love you," she whispered, her eyes closed briefly, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

And the hand she was holding onto squeezed back, returning the words.

Words he couldn't say. Words, she realized, he may never get to say.

And reality crashed down on her, suffocating her…not allowing her to breathe.

She loved him.

She loved him…

_If only it were enough. _

Please let it be enough.

**XX**

**I'm not quite sure what to think of this…I wrote this a month or so ago…I figured I might as well post it. :) **

**Feel free to interpret the ending any way you'd like. I'm not even sure what happens next. Whatever YOU want to happen I suppose. **

**So yes…this will most likely remain a oneshot. **

**Thanks for reading,**

**ada**


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